Parisyan, Ford Make Weight for ‘MMA Live 1’ Headliner

UFC veteran Karo
Parisyan and Canadian standout Ryan Ford both
hit their marks Wednesday for the welterweight main event of Jones
Entertainment Group’s
“MMA Live 1,” tipping the scales at 171 and 169.4 pounds,
respectively.

The co-headliners of the card -- which takes place Thursday at the
John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario, Canada -- also came in
on-point, as Pride Fighting Championships veteran Marcus
Aurelio (170.6) will meet Nova Scotian Matt
MacGrath (170.2).

Parisyan (Pictured; file photo) will compete for the first time
since his November ouster from the UFC. The embattled judoka was
first released by the promotion in November 2009, when, upon his
return from a nine-month suspension for banned painkillers,
Parisyan withdrew from a scheduled bout with Dustin
Hazelett the day prior.

After submitting Australian Ben
Mortimer under the Impact FC banner in July 2010, Parisyan
found his way back inside the Octagon. However, after a first-round
technical knockout loss to Dennis
Hallman, “The Heat” was once more banished by the UFC. The
28-year-old Parisyan has competed only four times in the past three
years, going 1-2 with one no-contest.

Ford, 29, has won six of his last seven outings and enters his bout
with Parisyan riding back-to-back wins. The former Maximum Fighting
Championships standout has gone 3-1 in the last 12 months, falling
only to current MFC welterweight champ Douglas
Lima while topping UFC vets Pete Spratt
and Tom
Speer. The Edmonton, Alberta, native holds a mark of 14-3 and
has gone the distance only twice in his four-year career.